Improvement in submarine tunnels



mrJoNns. j SUBMAMNE TUNNEL.

:Patented Jan. 11, 1875.

NRN

@7955553 /NVfJ/v TOR:

NJFsTans. wor

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

JOHN FRANKLIN JONES, OF MAROELLUS FALLS, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUBMARINE TUNNELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 1"2,027, vdated January 11, 1876; application filed March 1, 1875.

CASE C.

To all 'whom tt may concern .Be it known that I, J oEN FRANKLIN JONES, of Marcellus Falls, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Submarine Tunnels, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to rapidly and successfully construct submarine tunnels upon the beds of' seas, lakes, or rivers by safe,

simple, and substantial devices5'a11d it consists in attaching at the end of the tunnel an iron thimble or shield, in the form of a cylinder, having its outer' end closed by a hemispherical shell for the protection of the workmen, and which is forced forward as the work of construction advances.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the shield as applied to the tunnel; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the tunnel, showing the device for securing it to the bottom of the river, sea, or lake; and Fig. 3,1m exterior View of the tunnel and shield.

A is the shield, extending over the end of the tunnel B farenough to bring two or three of the packing-rings to bear upon it, and ire guided inits direction by the tunnel. It is made of wrought or cast iron, but preferably of the latter, and, when ot' large dimensions, constructed in sections, riveted or bolted together. The object in making the outer end of spherical shape is to obtain greater strength for resisting the compressive force of the water from the outside.

This shield is more especially adapted to cast-iron tunnels, in which all the parts are solid and rigidly connected, so as to resist the strain consequent from the moving of the shield.

The shield is forced forward by hydraulic pressureor other power as the work of construction advances, thereby making room for the workmen, and for the attachment of additional sections to the end of the tunnel.

S S are the piles or screws, projected through suitable stutng-boxes r r in the sides of the tunnel, for the purpose ot' anchoring it to the bottom of the river, lake, or sea.

rlhe shield, when applied to tunnels Vconstructed for the purpose of obtaining a supply oi pure water for cities, &c., can be provided with a suitable inlet,-arranged so that it can be opened and closed `from the shore.

What I claim as my invention is- The combination of the metallic shield or coffer A, constructed with a hemispherical end, and the submarine tunnel B, provided with packingrings around its exterior, to form a water-tight connection with said. shield or coffer, constructed to operate substantially as described and shown, for the purpose specitied.

In testimony whereof I `have signed my name and affixed my seal in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, this 23d day of February, 1875.

JOHN FRANKLIN JONES. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

STEPHEN HrsLEY, CHRIS. HoLMsTRUP. 

